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"I will fight. I will fight. I will fight until I take may last breath." That was the money soundbite from Rod Blagojevich's three-minute public statement aired by all three newscasts as Illinois' Democratic governor asserted his innocence on corruption charges. "Blagojevich's public defiance sets up a trial to remember," ABC's Brian Ross licked his lips, "no-nonsense federal prosecutors against Chicago-style politics." CBS' Dean Reynolds focused on the request by Blagojevich's defense team that prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald "turn over transcripts of the governor's expletive-riddled wiretapped conversations." Reynolds speculated that they would expose the role of soon-to-be White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in the wheelerdealing over Illinois' vacant Senate seat. NBC's Kevin Tibbles perceived a different defense tactic: to have the wiretap evidence thrown out as illegal.
If the Blagojevich case drags on the Illinois Senate seat may remain unfilled for months. ABC anchor Charles Gibson asked This Week host George Stephanopoulos whether the lack of that Democratic vote in the Senate might undercut Barack Obama's chances of passing a fiscal stimulus. "It is clear that the Obama strategy…is to try to come up with a bipartisan plan that would have well over 60 votes," Stephanopoulos responded. "They can afford that vacancy."
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